This year marks the 31st annual Spark of Love Toy Drive, where ABC7 teams up with the Southern California Firefighters and Toys for Tots. Community members and families can donate toys at any local fire station.
Donated toys will be given to kids in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura and Riverside counties and proceeds will go to buying toys or sports equipment for children in need.
Fire Station 15 Captain Anthony Reyna spoke on the importance of stations being a place to accept donations for those less fortunate this holiday season.
Anthony Reyna: We don’t only respond to emergencies and people when they’re in dire need of medical care or things like that. But we’re also supposed to imprint ourselves in the community itself. And I think with kids, especially during holidays, when they’re they don’t have the ability, or their families don’t have the ability to provide toys and all the holiday spirit that kids should be able to grow up with. I think it’s important for us to kind of step in and help assist families with that.
In addition to the fire fighters helping, Reyna witnesses’ families turning in donations more often, passing on the gift of giving to their children.
Reyna: The majority of people that are coming in and donating to us now, our families. So what’s happening is you see that the parents are trying to instill a belief of gift of giving to their children that are coming in. And it’s just instilling somebody for the next generation of kids and next generation of people.
For second year applied math major, Isaac Lustre, his mother passed on such beliefs.
Isaac Lustre: From a young age, my mom especially taught me to be very compassionate and caring for others. I’m Filipino and we have a lot of family in the Philippines. And so, what we would do is donate all of my old stuff and all my old toys to our Filipino families. And we’ve also donated like a lot to fire stations because I’m from the Valley, so a lot of fires are around the area. So, we would often like donate stuff to fire stations.
For those interested in donating toys for the drive, head out to your local fire station or check-out the upcoming Stuff-A-Bus Events happening in December 1, 8 and 15.